My toy/wargame room is on the top floor of our three-storey house. It was built some years ago when we had the existing loft converted into more accommodation … and when the building regulations insisted that the cavity walls and roof were filled with heavy duty insulation in preparation for the then-much-predicted drop in global temperature. (This was before the concept of global warming had been proposed.) As a result, when the UK experiences one of its rare spells of hot weather, the room quickly becomes too hot to stay in for more than a few minutes.
Even with the windows open and a tower fan going full blast in my toy/wargame room, I cannot reduce the temperature in the room. The situation is not helped by the fact that the room faces south-west, and it is exposed to the sun from the late morning until the sun sets. The room heats up during the day but loses very little of that heat during the night. I have tried using the temperature differential between the back and the front of the house to create a draft, but there is hardly any wind to help reduce the temperature in the room.
I had hoped that by now I would have begun painting the cavalry and mounted officers for my FUNNY LITTLE WAR/PORTABLE WARGAME Army Black, but other than priming/undercoating the figures, I have made no progress … and until the temperature drops again, I am not likely to to.
My own excuse is that I am spending more time digging ponds and clearing scrub in my garden. Having said that, the fact that temperatures in my shed exceed 90 degrees does have a bearing on the issue!
ReplyDeleteRob Young,
DeleteOur garden has very little shade after about 10.00am … so I haven’t even got the excuse of gardening!
Our living room faces north-east, and is relatively in the shade - and therefore cool - and we are spending most of out time in there.
All the best,
Bob
Bob,
ReplyDeleteSounds like you need a Reverse Cycle Air Conditioner fitted to the Loft- Study. I like the Summer heat- though not when it gets over 38Deg C. Freezing cold here to-day in the middle of Winter...managed to start some model making of a Fantasy Cottage in 25mm - went well and will do more through the week. We are in complete Lock Down now and will be this way for some time here in Sydney- luckily I've got a Hobby where I can do things in my Shed and entertain myself. Stay well there in London. Cheers. KEv.
Kev Robertson (Kev),
DeleteFrankly, for the few days of the year when it gets hot, spending money on an air conditioner seems a bit of an extravagance. When we move house, we will look for somewhere that has a combined heating/air conditioner system.
COVID-19 restrictions ended yesterday in England, and I’ve already had a message that someone I met at a meeting last Wednesday has been ‘pinged’ by the Track and Trace system, and that they are having to self isolate. My wife and I now have to take daily linear flow tests to make sure that we have not been infected. All this at a time when infections are over 50,000 per day and the hospitalisation rate is up by 50%.
Keep safe and keep well,
Bob
Bob,
Delete50,000 cases a day is very worrying. Chris (My Partner) tells me that here in Greater Sydney we've had 78 cases to-day...and we are in Complete Lock Down- even the Construction Industry has been stopped and it is only Essential Services that are continuing- everything else is shut. I worry for you Bob and Sue -as it doesn't seem right that your Government is completely lifting all of the Restrictions there in the UK. Hope your tests come back Negative to Covid and that you are safe and well. Regards. KEV.
Kev Robertson (Kev),
DeleteOur government was more worried about the impact restrictions were having on the economy than on the long-term health of the population. There are allegations that our beloved PM didn’t want to bring in our second lockdown because the impact was on the elderly (who cost the economy money in the form of pensions and care costs) rather than any other part of the population. It was only the imminent collapse of the NHS that seems to have changed his mind.
Boris is currently in isolation at Chequers (the PM’s country residence) after coming into contact with the Health Secretary just before the latter was diagnosed as infected with COVID-19. After a PR disaster (Boris tried to stay in a sort of working semi-isolation at Downing Street, but public opinion was so negative that he had to change his mind), he went to stay in Chequers. He appeared on TV yesterday … and looked unwell, even though he has had both jabs.
Sue and I are doing daily linear flow tests, and will try to keep away from potential infection sites. We will continue to wear masks in shops etc., for the foreseeable future.
We fully expect to be back in another lockdown/regime of restrictions by sometime in September.
Keep safe and keep well,
Bob
I bet it’s really soporific up there. I’m sat here cooling down in the coldest corner of the house after a morning working in the garden - has to be done now for an upcoming project.
ReplyDeleteDo you keep the curtains closed during the day? Most heat gain in houses is through the glazing. I have a routine of making sure all the windows are closed in the morning when it’s hot outside and closing the curtains on the south side of the house. The insulation in the walls and roof should help keep heat out as well as heat in.
We’re lucky in having a dormer window on the back of the top bedroom and Velux windows in the front so we’re able to get a good air flow going at night.
Nundanket,
DeleteI am sitting in our living room, which is the coolest room in our house as it faces north-east and is out of direct sunlight after about 10.00am. The upper floor rooms have blinds, and they are all drawn, but my wife refuses to have the curtains drawn the other rooms.
We have Velux windows at the front of the upper floor, and I open them once the sun is in the west, and by mid evening our home office is the coolest room in the house.
All the best,
Bob
I once had the small attic space in our extension as my hobby room; it has one small porthole window and wasn't even big enough to stand up in! It was unbearably hot so I dread to think what the temperature has been in there recently.
ReplyDeleteI migrated to the dining room table which meant packing every thing away at the end of a session.
Despite now having a spare room, this has been taken over during the week with a computer set up to work from home, so I would be back to the kitchen during the week!
It's just too hot to do much, certainly too hot for painting even with a wet palette (essential for warm weather).
Of course the government wants everyone back in offices as part of their (IMHO) completely misguided, contradictory bonkers "strategy" which is happy to accept 40k + deaths to get life and the economy back to "normal"......
I'm glad I'm not having to endure sweltering public transport and office yet....whether with or without masks!
Neil
Neil Patterson (Neil),
DeleteYour cubbyhole hobby space sounds as if it was even hotter than my toy/wargame room … and I thought that that was uncomfortable!
My wife has made it very clear that using our dining room for wargaming etc., is nonnegotiable… and I can understand why. I am allowed to use my laptop in there, but I have to pack it away as soon as I stop using it.
I have to go up to the City tomorrow for a dinner at Waterman’s Hall … and I am dreading having to use public transport. I am planning to use the Thames Clipper if I can, as it is less crowded and I can stand in the fresh air if I want to. How anyone is managing to work ‘normally’ is beyond me, and this drive to ‘open up’ the economy at the expense of an increased infection rate is beyond belief.
Keep safe and keep well,
Bob
It’s rather toasty here in my office - next door to my wargames room. I’ve not even attempted painting recently as it dries too quickly!
ReplyDeleteTim Gow,
DeleteAs I want to paint horses using the ‘paint and wipe’ method, I need the paint not to dry too quickly … and at present the water-based oil paint I’m going to use is drying far too quickly. I think that I’ll have to wait until the weather cools a bit before I give painting a try.
All the best,
Bob
Many an army painter has temporarily hung up their brushes in this heat wave of heat waves ;)
ReplyDeleteTime to try that ice cold sherry you suggested
Take care Bob ;)
Geordie an Exiled FoG,
DeleteThere’s no rush to get the figures painted, so the delay isn’t a problem … unlike the heat and humidity!
I’m about to have a cold drink … but not a Sherry, I’m afraid!
All the best,
Bob
Keep your plastics away from the ceiling. A friend of mine stored figures next to the ceiling of his metal shed and they became very brittle.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I'm in Australia I find the cold more annoying than the heat because the garage and adjining rumpus room have insulatin in the roof only but they are with brick walls and I have trees shading the area so it takes a while to heat up in the Summer.
Quantrilltoy,
DeleteThanks for the excellent advice regarding the storage of plastic figures. I'll certainly be following it.
Living on top of one of the highest points around London gives us wonderful views ... but little in the way of shade from the sun or protection from the wind and rain. Our neighbours have a large horse chestnut tree in their garden that gives a little bit of shade on the back of the house until about 10.00am, but after that it gives no respite at all.
All the best,
Bob
I know the feeling Bob as the halway was 28C last night at 10.00pm, with the bedrooms in the low to mid 30's C. I dread to think what the attic was! We're not keeping doors, windows and curtains closed on the sunny side of the house, then swapping as the sun moves round. It did make a difference yesterday along with an evening breeze for once.
ReplyDeleteCases here are now the highest they've ever been and we've had a 60% rise in one week! Hospital admissions are also increasing. Talking to a nurse friend the local hospital has two 40 years olds, both double vaccinated, on ventilators, but both were obese. So even with the jab, underlying health conditions remain a huge issue.
Steve J.,
DeleteThe thermometer in our hall was showing a temperature of 29.5C at 9.00pm last night, but had dropped to 28C by midnight, mainly thanks to a light breeze that helped to move the hot air that had gathered at the top of the house.
The infection rate in Royal Greenwich is still rising, but it looks as if it is beginning to flatten out. Our council is really pushing people to have the double jab, but there is still some resistance. I understand that hospitalisation continue to rise, and like the case you mention, they are seeing more people who have had both jabs but who also have underlying health problems.
I think that part of the problem is the simplistic belief many people have that the jabs give you immunity from the virus, whereas what the vaccine does is to mitigate the effects of the virus if you catch it.
Currently, my wife and I are taking daily linear flow tests. In my case, this is due to me getting a message that someone I met last Wednesday has had to self isolate. I don’t have to, but having a daily test for three or four days should show that I am free from infection.
Keep safe and keep well,
Bob
Steve J.,
DeleteI keep writing linear flow test when I should be using the term lateral flow test!
Mea culpa!
All the best,
Bob
I've found the Water+ by Instar Paints really helps painting in hot weather.
ReplyDeleteRegards Steve.
Radblight (Steve),
DeleteThanks for the suggestion. I’d never heard of Instar Paints before reading your comment, and will investigate further.
All the best,
Bob